The months after welcoming a baby into the world should be some of the happiest in your life, but for many women, it’s the complete opposite.
About 19 percent of new moms suffer from postpartum depression, and celebrities are not exempt. Hayden Panettiere is the most recent member of Hollywood to speak about her struggle with the disorder, and hopes that by sharing her experience, other women will know they’re not alone.
Take a look at these 10 stars who battles postpartum depression, and are using their experience to shed light on the issue.
10. Gwyneth Paltrow
“I felt like a zombie. I couldn’t access my heart. I couldn’t access my emotions. I couldn’t connect. It was terrible. It was the exact opposite of what had happened when Apple was born. . . . I couldn’t believe it wasn’t the same. I just thought it meant I was a terrible mother and a terrible person.”
9. Kendra Wilkinson
“After giving birth, I never brushed my hair, my teeth, or took a shower. I looked in the mirror one day and was really depressed. I thought, ‘Look at me!’ I had this glamorous life in LA, and now [in Indianapolis], I didn’t.”
8. Alanis Morissette
“The degree and intensity of my post-natal depression shocked me. I am predisposed to depression, but what surprised me this time was the physical pain. I hadn’t realized the depths to which you can ache — limbs, back, torso, head, everything hurt — and it went on for 15 months. I felt as if I was covered in tar and everything took 50 times more effort than normal.”
7. Bryce Dallas Howard
“My house was a mess. I believed I was a terrible dog owner. I was certain I was an awful actress; I dreaded a film I was scheduled to shoot only a few weeks after the birth because I could barely focus enough to read the script. And worst of all, I definitely felt I was a rotten mother—not a bad one, a rotten one. Because the truth was, every time I looked at my son, I wanted to disappear.”
6. Lisa Rinna
“It’s very, very scary and vulnerable. . . . I made Harry [Hamlin] hide all the sharp knives and take the gun out of the house. . . . Now how horrific is that? I wanted to share it because I think women are so shamed by this and feel so horrible. . . . I found help and got through it.”
5. Amanda Peet
“And now I want to be honest about it because I think there’s still so much shame when you have mixed feelings about being a mom instead of feeling this sort of ‘bliss.’ I think a lot of people still really struggle with that, but it’s hard to find other people who are willing to talk about it.”
4. Vanessa Lachey
“I felt lost, unloved, alone and at my wits end. But at that moment . . . I felt like NO ONE understood me. I was in my maternity leggings, un-showered with throw up on my shirt, hives ALL over my body (another lovely post pregnancy perk I got) and a sweet, loving little boy who couldn’t look at me and smile to make it all better. I started crying. I was feeding Camden and crying my eyes out. I felt like I had officially come undone. Where was the organized Vanessa who had it all under control no matter what the obstacle? She was gone, and I thought . . . forever.”
3. Brooke Shields
“Rowan kept crying, and I began to dread the moment when Chris would bring her to me. Although I didn’t dislike her, I wasn’t sure I wanted her living with us. Every time I have been near a baby, any baby, I have always wanted to hold the child. I didn’t feel like I wanted to get too close to Rowan.”
2. Courteney Cox
“I went through a really hard time—not right after the baby, but when [Coco] turned 6 months. I couldn’t sleep. My heart was racing. And I got really depressed. I went to the doctor and found out my hormones had been pummeled.”
1. Hayden Panettiere
“It’s something a lot of women experience. When you’re told about postpartum depression you think it’s ‘I feel negative feelings towards my child, I want to injure or hurt my child’ — I’ve never, ever had those feelings. Some women do. But you don’t realize how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on. It’s something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they’re not alone, and that it does heal.”
Have you been effected by postpartum depression? Share with us in the comments below.
[Featured image credit: Getty Images]